In 2012, Rovio, the makers of Angry Birds, recorded revenues of $200 million dollars, $71 million of which were profit. To this day, their flagship feathers still pull in a few thousand dollars per day.
In a 2014 report from Midia Research, 84.9% of the 700 top grossing apps were games. According to other statistics, over 22 billion dollars were spent on video games last year alone. At the time this article is being written, 8 of the top 10 grossing iOS apps in the US are games.
The industry keeps booming. The demand is there. People just need to keep bringing the supply.
So. Wanna make a video game? Of course you do.
With so many of us having grown up on video games, we’ve all got ideas of what our perfect game would be like. But then there’s the whole “building it” thing that gets in the way. It’s one thing to brush up on coding in general, but it’s another to tighten up all the technical skills required to build a game. There are tons of coding courses out there but what would really hit the spot is a program specializing in games.
Playwell is trying to hit that spot. Based in NYC, they offer classes, mentorship, and support for people who want to learn how to make games and get a piece of the pie / crushed candy.
Playwell’s classes are geared for industry newbs who may not have the time to fully devote themselves to learning game development. Classes last a weekend so you can get in there with an idea and get out with a game-in-progress. Within their support portfolio are deep-dive development bootcamps, ideation and design workshops and ongoing events for networking, debate and general discussion.
A two-day bootcamp will run you around $200.
Playwell’s philosophy is based around collaborative learning; instead of dreaming about video games with your buddies, or cranking away at it alone in your office / laundry room / pantry, you’ll be building one from day one with people just like you under the mentoring and guidance of industry professionals.
Additionally, they’ve got a coworking space for which people can apply and snag if they’ve got the right stuff.
We’ve all seen the model before and we’ve seen it work. Focusing it one of the most lucrative software segments in history is probably an effective angle for both attracting the selectively ambitious and lowering the barriers to entry. It’s already a competitive market but opening the doors up with these kinds of specialized resources could help a lot more people shuffle in a lot more quality product. At a pretty fast pace too.
If video games hold a special place in your heart, consider turning that idea into reality. Playwell will help you get it started in a weekend.
